(fatally?) flawed; Can the Chiefs overcome the weaknesses the Bengals exposed?
Kansas City can't seem to get past Cincinnati, but there were larger problems on display Sunday that could hold them back in the playoffs.
One game doth not a team make. And a bad matchup against a good team does not tank a season. In the NFL, it’s easy to get caught up in overreaction one week to the next, and maintaining a level head is crucial in both victory and defeat.
And yet.
The Chiefs fell once again to the Bengals on Sunday, losing a winnable game in frustrating fashion as multiple opportunities (and tackles) slipped through their fingers.
Losing is always a bummer. Losing the number 1 seed in the AFC (that now belongs to the Bills thanks to their tiebreaker over the Chiefs) is a double bummer. Losing to a team that seems to have your number and you’re very likely to face again in the playoffs? I don’t know if there’s such thing as a triple bummer, but that would be it.
However, it IS true that one game is just one game. And losing to the Bengals, as annoying as it is, shouldn’t be the end of the Chiefs’ 1-see hopes. A close loss to a Super Bowl contender is not the end of the world, and they had their shot to put the game firmly under their control. There’s always next week, etc.
However, in losing to the Bengals, the Chiefs showed some flaws that could potentially derail their Super Bowl hopes. And that, much more so than any single game, is where the primary concerns come from for me. From pass rush (which we’d JUST started to get some momentum going), to defending the middle of the field, to keeping Mahomes upright… well, there are concerns that need to be addressed if Andy Reid’s group wants to go all the way in 2022. Let’s talk about them.